Babies are wanted for employment with the elderly

A nursing home in Japan is “recruiting” children for a necessary task: keeping the elderly company and making them laugh. Salary? Diapers and powdered milk.

New recruits to the facility in Kitakyushu (Southwest) must be under the age of four, and their parents or guardians must sign an agreement that children and young children can “come to work whenever they want.”

They are allowed to take breaks “when they are hungry, asleep or in accordance with their mood,” the agreement states.

More than 30 children have signed up so far, working to inspire more than 100 residents, mostly in their 80s, said Kimi Gondo, who runs the nursing home.

“Our residents laugh when they see the children,” she told AFP, adding, “There is no roster or anything.”

A job ad pinned to the establishment’s wall reads, “We’re Hiring!” in big letters. It is written. and inform applicants that they will be compensated for their diaper and powdered milk services.

The main — and perhaps only — responsibility of successful candidates is to “walk around” the retirement home in the company of their parents or guardians, we read further.

“Children are with their mother all the time. It’s like taking them for a walk in the park,” explained Ms. Gondo.

The locals are delighted with the young recruits and greet them, engage in conversation or hug them.

“They are cute. It reminds me of when I was a parent,” a resident of the nursing home told a local television station.

So far, the project has yielded excellent results, Ms. According to Gondo. “Some of the children get along so well with our residents that they are now like real grandparents and grandchildren.”